Bright or dull, which is best?

I quite often try and pick days with nice light for photography. Alas, living in the UK, dull weather is never to far away, particularly through late autumn to early spring when it can persist for days on end. There’s nothing that puts me of going out with my camera more than a flat grey sky. But should it?

The two pictures published here today were taken on the same day in Cleethorpes at the end of December last year. When I arrived the sky was bright and clear and strong contrasty light was present. However, as the day progressed, clouds began to gather until they pretty much filled the sky. By the time I set off for the drive home the light had diminished considerably and it was raining.

Yet, despite this and my normal preference for good light, it’s the second photograph made in the supposedly worse conditions that I like the best. It just has bags more atmosphere. I guess the different composition of both could be having some effect, but I don’t really think that’s the reason.

Maybe I should just embrace the grey.

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

Shelters by the sea

The weather in the UK is, being generous, changeable. A day at the seaside, no matter what the forecast might promise, always bears a risk of it raining for the full duration of your visit. So what are you meant to do in these situations? Get wet?

Well we inventive Brits have a solution to everything, and so many seaside resorts around the country have you covered with a selection of shelters in which you can attempt to avoid the elements. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, from simple bus-shelter-style to grandiose Victorian architectural gems. And if the weather is nice, maybe you can just take the weight of your feet and enjoy your fish and chips or an ice cream or something.

I really like this couple of photos. I don’t think there are any other shelters like this in Cleethorpes, but I know there are many dotted around the country’s resorts. maybe a long-term project is a possibility?

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

Interesting house

I take a lot of pictures of buildings of all shapes and sizes, but sometimes I find one that grabs my attention because it has a particularly interesting design.

The photo in today’s post illustrates this quite nicely. I have no idea of the history of this structure, but it’s an unusual shape to be sure. The wedge-shaped roof of the far section, to the oddly narrow middle section, then dropping down to a single storey section that has, what looks like, a more recent extension. It looks like an interesting place to live (I’m not sure, but it might be made up of apartments) and, as I walked past it in late December, I could see the Christmas decorations still present within, giving it a very homely feel.

Fujica GW690 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

Digging for bait

An angler digs for bait at low tide on Cleethorpes beach. The beaches around the uk are a prime habitat for lugworm, which are a popular sea fishing bait. They can be bought from fishing tackle shops, but can also be harvested from the sea shore in areas where it is permitted to do so.

The worms are filter feeders and live in u-shaped burrows with a small dimple at one end and a distinctive squiggly cast at the other meaning they are easy to locate when the tide is low.

Fujica GW690 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

Willys Brewery

I’ve had a day of travelling today to attend a team meeting, which means I’m tired and that this will be a short post.

So here’s a picture of Willys Brewery in Cleethorpes.

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

Open and closed by the sea

Seaside resort during the off-season are a bit of a mixed bag in terms of what is open and what is closed. Some cafes were serving hot drinks to the December tourists, some of the arcades were taking their money in exchange for amusements while others were shuttered, fish and chips were readily available, just not from everywhere, and an ice cream could still be had by the foolhardy (i.e. me).

Unsurprisingly the deckchair hut was closed though.

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

People on the beach

A couple of photographs of Cleethorpes beach. Although December, it wasn’t especially cold, so there were quite a few people about, albeit no-one making sandcastles or paddling in the sea that I saw.

The fenced-off area at middle-right of the first picture is the site of the new lifeboat station and boathouse – at the right edge of the image you can just make out the concrete supports that will hold the boat ramp when the building is complete.

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

Hammy the Haddock

A return to the blog for Hammy the Haddock, who last featured here a couple of years ago back in March 2022.

For those of you who might have missed that earlier post, Hammy is a plastic bottle recycling “bin” who resides on the promenade at Cleethorpes since being placed there in 2020.

Although Hammy seems like a strange name for a haddock (despite the alliteration), there is a story behind it. A children’s competition was held to find a name for the metal fish and the winner was Lilly-Mai Halligan from nearby Grimsby. The name Hammy came from her late uncle, Bernard ‘Buster’ Hammond, who had been part of the beach safety team for over three decades.

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

Beneath the pier (with a spot meter)

After yesterdays picture of Cleethorpes pier, here’s a picture showing what it looks like underneath.

This is one of the first photos I’ve ever spot metered handheld. I have a Reveni Labs spotmeter that I bought from someone second-hand. I’ve only used it at a basic level so far – looking for a Zone 3 area (dark, but with detail) to take a single reading and place it on middle-grey (Zone 5), and then underexposing a couple of stops from what it tells me (I don’t think I’ve explained that very well…).

It’s worked pretty well on the handful of shots I’ve used it for so far. I’ll likely continue to use an incident meter where possible, but it’s good to have the option to be more precise when I can’t get into the same light as the subject.

The upper part of this picture is pretty dark, but that’s what it was like (and there’s no way I could capture setail there without blowing out the brighter parts of the scene). My intent was to retain detail in the vertical struts, which I’ve managed to do.

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023

Papa’s once more

It seems that every time I visit Cleethorpes, I photograph Papa’s fish and chip restaurant. Or, rather, I photograph the pier. Papa’s just happens to be the current tenant. It’s a photogenic scene though, so I’m not surprised that it draws my lens.

I think this is the third time I’ve featured the pier and chippy on the blog (here and here, although it might be in some other posts too , just not where I’ve mentioned it by name).

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2023